Dragon and Wolf
by becauseIsaidSO
Summary: Remus gets a surprise visitor who not only tell him the truth, but gives him what would become one of his greatest treasures.
1. An Unexpected Visitor

Dragon and Wolf

By BecauseIsaidSo

Chapter 1: An Unexpected Visitor

Remus Lupin awoke to a knock on his apartment door. Blearily opening his eyes, he wiggled out of his covers and stumbled to the door. Blinking away the last of the sleep he opened the door. And slammed it shut again.

All tiredness gone from his body, he flew back into the bedroom, grabbed his wand off of his bedside table and locked the front door magically from where he stood.

Breathing hard, he waited. Silence filled the apartment, then the knock came again and the soft sound of a woman's voice.

It was six months since the war had ended and Remus's reflexes were still practiced and skilled. His brain was telling him to fight, to flee, to react because this had to be a trick, a trap, and even though there had been no wand in the woman's hand he wasn't going to risk a fight. He cast around for other ways she could get into the apartment, there was apparating, of course, but there was nothing he could do about that. He wasn't connected to the flu network and his little grate of a fireplace wasn't big enough for a person anyway.

The knock came again reverberating from the otherwise silent apartment. Remus checked the clock quickly; it was 9:30 in the morning. He had to be at work in half an hour.

He waited, his wand never wavering from the front door. The knock came again and again, the female voice still coming through the door. Remus couldn't understand her words, but he knew that she wasn't trying any spell, simply pleading. He heard his name a few times.

After a full five minutes of waiting, the knocking and calling of the woman coming and going, Remus started slowly toward the door. He stepped carefully, not making a sound, his muscles alert for any sudden noise or movement. Two steps from the door the knock came again and Remus could properly make out the words this time.

"Remus Lupin, please open the door! I know you're in there! I'm not going to hurt you. I have a few things to tell you and I need a favor. Please, Remus, just open the door." The voice subsided and the knocking continued for a few more beats before stopping. Remus took the final two steps and opened the door, his wand coming up defensively. However nice she sounded, she still couldn't be trusted.

The woman breathed a sigh of relief, ignoring the wand in his hand. "Can we come in?"

Remus looked down and noticed for the first time the little boy clutching on to the woman's hand. He studied the two for a moment, then stepped aside.

Letting Narcissa and Draco Malfoy into his home would turn out to be one of the most important decisions of his life.


	2. Rat vs Dog

Dragon and Wolf  
by BecauseIsaidSo

Chapter 2: Rat vs. Dog

Remus looked across his living room at the woman and child sitting on his shabby couch. Three months out of school, he'd been walking in Muggle London, and found that torn up thing, the owner had tried throwing it away. He'd washed all the cushions and magiced most of the dirt away, but it still has a faint smell of vomit that try as he might he couldn't get rid of.

He could see Narcissa felt out of place, she was perched very far forward on the couch, and kept looking around at the bare walls and the dusty furniture. Her son was cuddled into her, sucking his thumb.

"I'm not here very often," said Remus, truthfully, "So, cleaning isn't the top of my priority list." Narcissa nodded still inspecting the room. Remus had to be at work soon and he didn't want things to be drawn out, "What can I help you with?" he asked, his wand still casually perched in his hand.

"Well," said Narcissa. Remus noticed with some confusion that her hands were shaking in her lap and she kept picking at her cuticles. "I need to tell you something and I need a favor."

"What is it?"

"You know who my husband is," she looked Remus in the eyes, "He is a Death Eater, a killer, a torturer, and a bad man." Remus blinked, he had watched during the war as Narcissa wielded her own wand against his fellow Order members, and laughed with the Death Eaters over killing and torture. "I'm not going to deny what I've done," she said as if reading Remus's mind, "I know I've done terrible things, things that- that I regret," her voice cracked and she looked down at her son. "I don't want my son growing up in a family that is biased on killing. He is a good child and he has his innocence." Remus looked at the blond boy cuddled against his mother's side, his wide eyes were taking in every aspect of the apartment, but he was strangely quiet for a boy his age. Narcissa took a rattling breath, "I want to leave my husband, I want to leave the Death Eaters, and I want to take my son with me, but I can't."

"Why not?" asked Remus, interrupting in spite of himself.

"Because, if I leave the dark lord, and my husband and all I've ever known," her voice cracked again. "If my husband ever finds me, he will want me dead or worse." The sincerity in her eyes was baffling, "and he is much more likely to find me if I am with my son. And if he found my son," her eyes closed, " I can't even imagine what he would do to him. My son needs to be around people who would love him and can care for him no matter what. I wont be able to do that. Leaving will cost me my freedom, I'll have to constantly be on the move, and I need my son to be with someone I can trust."

"What are you saying?"

She met his eyes firmly, "Will you adopt Draco?"

Remus blinked. "No."

Narcissa held his gaze, "Why?"

"I- I- I can't." Remus was utterly confused. This woman who up till 5 minutes ago he would have considered a threat and stunned on spot was now asking him to take her child.

"Please," Narcissa's eyes were welling up with tears but they never broke his gaze. The boy next to her was completely oblivious to his mother's distress and was picking at a loose sting in the couch cushion. "You're the only one I trust, it would have been Sirius but-"

Remus's breath caught in his throat.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I honestly had no idea he was working for us."

Remus looked up at her, anger such as he had never felt was boiling in his chest. How could have have forgotten about Sirius? She was his kin, his cousin, Black by blood if not by name. He had learned all to well that they were all the same. "You didn't know?" he said coldly, he could feel the anger in his voice and knew he was frightening her. "You're not alone, Narcissa, do you think ANY of us knew?"

"Remus, you have to understand, there were some whom the dark lord only knew about who acted in secret, ones we knew nothing about! I honestly thought it would have been the rat rather than Sirius, but with one dead and the other locked away, who could tell?"

Remus looked up at her, confusion mingling with his anger, "What did you say?

"What-?"

"The rat." Remus spit out. His mind was working on overdrive. If what she was saying was what he thought she was saying…

"The rat? Peter? Peter Pettigrew. He joined about a year before _that_ night, he was creepy and weird and smelled funny, but he was always there, sneaking around." Narcissa met Remus's eyes and he knew she wasn't lying; still he had to be sure.

"Swear it!" he said abruptly.

"What?!"

"Swear, Peter was working for Voldemort" she shivered at the name, "If what you say is true, than these last months of my depression have been for nothing. Swear that it's true."

"I swear," she said softly staring at Remus.

Making a sudden decision, Remus turned his wand on her, she stiffened visibly staring at his wand point. "You're going to come with me," he said very firmly, "You will bring your son, and everything you just said to me you will say to who I take you to."

Her face was scared but set, "Alright," she said softly and stood up.

"Can you be seen in the Leakey Caldron?" he asked, suddenly aware of the disadvantages of his cost saving grate fire. Narcissa nodded. He grabbed her arm and took the boys hand in his other and disapparated.


	3. Decisions Decisions

Dragon and Wolf  
by BecauseIsaidSo

Chapter 3: Decisions Decisions…

Albus Dumbledore had seen many things in his time at Hogwarts, but none were quite so fascinating as seeing Narcissa Black clamber out of his fire place, closely followed by Remus Lupin holding an almost 2 year old boy.

"Lupin," said Dumbledore calmly as Remus set the boy down who ran to stand with his mother in the middle of the floor.

"Tell him," said Remus, addressing the woman.

Narcissa sat down in one of the chairs before Dumbledore's desk and began from the beginning.

When she was finished, Albus sat still and silent for almost a full minute.

"You swear to this?" he asked finally.

"Every word," she said, shaking slightly.

Albus stood up, grabbed a pinch of floo powder from a tin box on the mantel, put his head in the flames and shouted, "ALASTOR MOODY'S OFFICE!" Dumbledore's head vanished.

Remus instructed Narcissa to sit, and positioned himself in between her and the flames, so that Mad-eye wouldn't attack on sight and waited. A few minutes later, Dumbledore's head reappeared quickly followed by Mad-eye Moody. The Auror looked around the room taking in Remus, Narcissa and Draco who was sucking his thumb on his mother's lap.

Mad-eye strode across the room to Narcissa. Both of his eyes were fixed on her face but she did not draw back from him. After a moment of silence, he turned away addressing Dumbledore.

"She's not lying," he said with certainty.

"As I suspected," said Dumbledore crossing the room. "Narcissa, the Order is prepared to offer you protection, provided you give a sworn statement to the wizarding world regarding you knowledge of the deaths of James and Lily Potter. The Order will protect you from the Ministry of Magic who will try to arrest you, and from the remaining Death Eaters at large such as your husband. However, we cannot offer protection to anyone, including your husband, whom you may name in your statement. If you agree, your life will be in our hands as will your son's. If you do not want our help," Dumbledore motioned to the fireplace, "The exit is there."

Narcissa looked from Dumbledore to the fire place, and back again. They were all waiting for her to make a decision, yet her lips never opened. Her silence filled the room.

"Mummy," they all looked down at the boy tugging on Narcissa's pant leg.

Remus blinked, it was the first time he'd heard the child speak.

"What is it my dear?" Narcissa bent down kindly to her son's level, stroking his hair.

Draco looked around at the adults, obviously shy, "When are we going home?"

Narcissa broke down. She threw her arms around the boy and sobbed, holding her son close to her. No one else dared touch her. Her son seemed confused but not bothered by his mother clutching him. Narcissa herself just sat there on the floor, holding Draco, and sobbing, rocking back and fourth.

Some time later when her sobs had dried out and Draco had started to squirm under her crushing embrace, she stood up. She took a few deep shattering breaths and turned back to the others.

"I'll do it," she said softly, "For my safety and for Draco's. We will be safer with the Order behind us."

"Alright then," said Alastor, who strode across to the fireplace once more, "I'll get the press ready to take Ms. Malfoy's statement." He looked back at the thin shaken woman, "I'll make sure they're pleasant."

Once he was gone Remus snorted, "His idea of pleasant is not the normal definition, is it Albus?"

"Unfortunately not," said Dumbledore, tiredly sitting down at his desk. "Ms. Malfoy, you and your son can occupy our guest sweet before you make your statement. Caddy!" A house elf appeared in the middle of the room, "Show Ms. Malfoy and her son to our guest sweet, and make sure they have as much food and drink as they want." The house elf bowed to him before leading the two out of the office.


	4. Goodbye

Dragon and Wolf  
by BecauseIsaidSo

Chapter 4: Goodbye

Narcissa held her son to her. She did not know if she would ever see him again. The boy squirmed a bit in her arms, uncomfortable. Draco was a good boy, and very easy going as far as children went. His father had never paid much attention claiming 'once he has an adults mind, then he'll be worth talking to'. Remembering this particular phrase of Lucious's, Narcissa wondered why she had ever stayed with him so long. _ Because it wasn't how you were raised, _she reminded herself. The purebloods' traditions were so set in stone that it was nearly impossible to follow. They made you feel as if you had no other choice.

She let go of Draco looking him in the eyes, "Draco," she said to get his attention. He was so young, so innocent, not even potty-trained yet. "Draco, I'm going to go away." He looked at her blankly, not fully understanding. "Draco, I will always be your mother, I will always love you."

"I love you," said Draco, leaning in to sloppily kiss her cheek. Tears she'd been fighting back all day were on the brink of falling.

"Draco," she said, trying to contain herself, "This is who will be taking care of you." She motioned for Remus to kneel down next to her.

"Hi Draco," he said calmly and smiling at Draco, "I'm Remus, but you can call me whatever you want."

Draco looked blankly at him, "Where's mummy going?" he asked his mother.

"I'm going away," said Narcissa, biting her lip. "I'll write letters to you, would you like that Draco?" He nodded. "Okay, now take Remus's hand, he's going to take care of you." He nodded again, taking Remus's hand. The adults straightened up.

"Take care of him," said Narcissa. She could feel the tears behind her eyes, a pressure willing to be released.

"I will," said Remus and she knew she could trust him.

"I love you, Draco," she said, kissing her son on his forehead. The small child hugged her around the legs, and she felt the tears falling down her face.

Remus pulled her son away, picking him up and giving him a hug. Their eyes met. _Thank you._

She disapparated.

"Finally," grunted Mad-eye before she even had a real chance to collect herself.

"Yes, I'm finally here," she said bitterly.

"Alright," he said, "Now it took a bit of arranging but your new name is Penelope Travers. You live Massachusetts in America. There's a large wizarding community in Boston so you'll get lost in the crowd. You should die your hair the way muggles do to make sure it lasts, a charm will only last a few hours." Narcissa nodded.

"We haven't lined up a job for you," said Dumbledore, "But you shouldn't have that much of a problem, there's an old friend who's willing to take you in until you've gotten settled and on your feet. His name is Thomas Zartman. Here is his address." Dumbledore handed her a slip of paper. "You're all packed, Alastor will take you to the airport. You have a muggle ticket to America leaving in 3 hours." Dumbledore looked at her, his eyes full of caring and trust, "Thank you, you have helped us in more ways than one. Good luck."

Narcissa took her information, "Thanks you," she said quietly.

Alastor handed her the tin box of flu powder. "We're going to the Leakey Caldron, then taking a muggle train," he said gruffly. She nodded, throwing her flu power into the fire. Her heart was beating faster than it ever had before.

"The Leakey Caldron," she said and stepped into the flames.


	5. Daddy

Dragon and Wolf  
by BecauseIsaidSo

Chapter 5: Daddy

Draco cried for three days. On the fourth day, when he asked Remus where Narcissa was, Remus considered lying to the kid just so he wouldn't cry today, but before he could answer the toddler said, "She's 'way still?" Remus nodded, and Draco went about his day with a considerable less amount of tantrums.

Remus had taken the month off of work to get Draco accustomed to their new home. Remus had ended his lease on the muggle apartment and with some of the gold Narcissa had given them was able to buy a condo in wizarding London. The fireplace was connected to the flu network and copies of the Daily Prophet were available in the lobby. He had also bought a new couch, one that hadn't been abandoned, along with a considerable amount of things for Draco.

When she had left her husband with Draco, Narcissa had taken as many small things as she could without their absence being noticed, but the big furniture Remus had had to procure. So he had gotten Draco a bed highly recommended by the muggle sales woman. They had also gotten a bookcase and a dresser for Draco. Draco had been allowed to pick the colors for his sheets and things and the boy had chosen a wide variety of greens that clashed horribly with one another, but he got what he wanted.

Draco was a strange child, Remus decided. He was relatively quiet, except when he wanted something in which he didn't ask, he just screamed until he got it or he grew tired of screaming. But when he wasn't throwing tantrums in the middle of shopping centers he was sweet. He held Remus's hand and did what Remus's said. Remus just wished that he talked more.

"Draco," he asked a few weeks in as the two of them were eating dinner. "How would you like to go to school?" Remus had been thinking of sending Draco to a preschool for a while. It would give him more time at work and let Draco interact with people his own age. When Draco didn't answer he said, "It would be with children your age, ones who understood you, who you could talk to. And the teachers are really nice, they have fun toys to play with and they'll help you."

Draco perked up, "What toys?" he asked quietly.

"Well," said Remus, chuckling slightly, "They have legos, and stuffed animals, and lots of other toys, we can visit if you want." Draco just nodded and Remus took that for consent, so the next day the visited a muggle pre-school. He had thought of taking Draco to a magical one, but there were rumors of Lucius Malfoy looking for his son, and Remus didn't want to make things too easy for him.

"Draco, that's a very interesting name," said the kind woman who ran the small pre-school not far from wizarding London.

"His mother chose it," said Remus mildly. Draco was off with the other children. A little girl had taken him into their game as soon as he'd arrived, putting a tutu on his head and declaring him prince.

"Well, it does seem to suit him well enough," said the Mrs. Beston, "My husband and I have been running this day care for twentyfive years, we keep our children safe and happy and healthy, and better yet we sneak learning in so they don't even know it's coming."

"Well it sounds like a very school, and I'm sure Draco would be beyond happy here," said Remus as two other little boys tried to steal the tutu off of Draco's head and the girl starting singing a song about the braveries of Draco the Prince, "He definatly needs interaction with those of his own age."

"He'll certainly get that here," she said chipperly, looking lovingly around at the children.

That night Remus was woken up to the sound of music coming from Draco's bedroom. He went to the door looking to see what was going on. Draco was facing away from the door, his hand tracing the green dragon design on his pillow and singing softly to himself.

"_Draco the Prince, he's big he's strong,  
Draco the Prince, he's in this song,  
Draco the Prince, he's brave and bad,  
Draco the Prince, he never get's sad."_

"Draco," said Remus tentatively, and the boy jumped, turning over quickly, obviously startled, but his face lit up when he saw it was Remus smiling down at him.

"Are you my daddy now?" the little boy asked peering up at Remus through his covers.

"If you want me to be," said Remus kindly, sitting down on the side of his bed and pushing his hair out of his face.

Draco nodded, then after a moment said, "Can we go back to the place with the toys?"

Remus smiled and nodded, "Yes we can," he said, "Now it's time for you to go to sleep." Draco snuggled down in his covers, obviously tired. "Good night Draco."

"Good Night Daddy."


	6. The Push

Dragon and Wolf  
by BecauseIsaidSo

Chapter 6: The Push

Narcissa's sworn statement appeared on Barty Crouch's desk the week after she'd left for America. He had to read it several times before fully understanding what she was saying; he then abandoned his morning tea and went to find Millicent Bagnold.

The Minister of Magic was in her office, her glasses on, and her papers shuffling themselves on her desk as she read what looked like a very long report. She looked up when he came in.

"What is it Barty?" she asked, obviously surprised at his presence.

"Minister," said Barty striding in, "I have just received a very strange report signed in blood by Narcissa Malfoy. It's a confession of herself and her husband being Death Eaters, as well as Peter Petegrew. She also claims that she never knew Sirius Black was a Death Eater, and would never have suspected him of being one."

With out saying a word, Millicent set down her report and held out her hand. She studied it for a few minutes, "When did you get this?" she asked.

"This morning."

"The ink is at least a few days old, someone waited to send you this. Did you see it arrive?"

"No, Minister, it was sitting in my inbox this morning when I came in."

Millicent nodded then stood up, "We're going to the Auror office, we need to find out if this is true."

"It's signed in blood," said Crouch without thinking.

"That does not necessarily make it binding."

When they arrived at the Auror office, Kingsley Shacklebolt was opening his paper, he set it down quickly, however, at the sight of the Minister.

"What can I do for you Millicent, Barty?"

"Find out if this document is legal and therefore true," said the minister without preamble. Kingsley looked at the paper in her hand. "It's content is only relevant if it is true," she said. Kingsley nodded and held his hand out for the parchment.

He waved his wand around it, muttering to himself. Several balls of blue smoke appeared out of his wand tip, as he continued muttering, one by one they turned green and dissolved into nothing. When all the balls had turned green and vanished Kingsley straightened up and handed the parchment back to the minister. "It seems to be binding," he said, "Everything written down is true."

Millicent nodded then turned to Crouch. "Barty, go to Azkaban, take a few of the Aurors with you. I want you to bring Black here, inform him that he will await a trial at some point next week and put him in a holding cell in the basement, make sure his is guarded against every sort of magic there exists and keep a dementor stationed down there just for the time being. We can't have any mistakes when it comes to this." Barty nodded, "Kingsley, I want you and the two Aurors you trust the most to go to the home of Lucius Malfoy. Arrest him and his wife if they are to be found. If they cannot be, then I want you to come back here and organize a search team for them. They were both named, and will be tried for their crimes, when they come in, Barty, I hope you will deal with them appropriately."

"Minister, what are we going to do about Pettigrew?" Crouch asked as Kingsley hurried away.

"We're revoking his Order of Merlin, of course, but someone will have to inform his dear old mother. We'll release an official statement once Sirius's and the Malfoy's trials come back." She turned to head back to her office, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Good luck, Barty!" And she was gone, leaving Crouch in a very difficult position indeed.


	7. Truth

Dragon and Wolf  
By BecauseIsaidSo

Chapter 7: Truth

Sirius Black sat in his cell, the cold all around him. He was mostly numb to it at this point though the feeling of despair that kept trying to creep into his mind was getting harder to ignore every day.

"Peter killed Lily and James," he muttered to himself, a chant breaking out in his mind, "Peter killed Lily and James. Peter killed Lily and James. He is guilty. He is guilty." The words were a comfort to him, something to drive the cold away a little bit longer. He felt exhausted; he didn't remember the last time he had slept. Sleeping was worse than waking. The nightmares he could shut out in his conscious mind crept into his dreams and filled his sleep with terrors. He had lost track of the days, it was always dark here and food was brought so irregularly that meals didn't help determine the time of day let alone which one.

He could here footsteps down the hall, and stopped muttering, sitting up a little straighter on his bed determined to show whomever it was that he was not going insane. The footsteps stopped outside his cell and Sirius looked up into the face of Barty Crouch. There had two ministry officials behind Crouch, both had their wands out and both were pointed right at him. The pit of his stomach dropped. This could mean nothing good. He wondered what fake evidence had been put fourth that warranted what he was sure going to happen next. He would be taken from his cell, interrogated, and killed.

His cell door slid open, and Barty Crouch stepped into the cell pulling a small roll of parchment from his cloak. "Sirius Black," he read, "You are hereby summoned to appear in front of the Wizengamot on the 9th of May 1982, you are to give evidence and testimony regarding the deaths of James and Lily Potter." He handed the small piece of parchment to Sirius a very stern expression on his face.

Sirius stared at the parchment. He brain was moving sluggishly. Had he heard Crouch correctly? He carefully read the parchment in his hands a few times to make sure he was right. He was going to give testimony. They were going to listen to him. For the first time in too long Sirius felt a slight glimmer of hope.

"We will take you back to the Ministry, to hold you in on of our cells until your trial date," said Crouch motioning for Sirius to stand.

He did so, still staring at the piece of paper then back at Crouch. Finally he croaked out, "What day is it?"

"It is shortly after noon on May 7th," said Crouch obviously impatient. Sirius nodded and left the cell.

The ride to the Ministry was a blur for Sirius; once they were clear of the dementors the full impact of what was happening hit Sirius. He was getting a trial. He was going to give testimony for Lily and James. He would be able to tell the truth about what happened that night. He would be cleared and if everything went well he would never go back to Azkaban again. His heart felt the lightest it had felt in months and he was on the verge of crying for joy.

"This is your cell," said Crouch when they got to the holding cells. "You will be provided with new robes for the hearing in two days. In the mean time you will be meeting with Amelia Bones to give a full statement before the hearing." Crouch turned to go then turned back thinking better of it, "Can I get you anything?" he said with a strained voice, obviously very uncomfortable. Sirius just shook his head, his brain was still in overdrive and speaking we difficult. Crouch nodded curtly and left.

A ministry witch brought him some new robes around dinner saying that they weren't much. Sirius thought they looked brand new. He'd been wearing the same two pairs for the past six months, he figured they could give him rags and he'd find them better than his own ones.

That night he slept like a baby. The bed was hard and lumpy but with only one dementor guarding the entrance, the cold he had become so used to did not effect him at all. He dreamed about Lily and James and Harry, little baby Harry playing in the front yard of their house in Godric's Hollow. He was there too, playing along the three of them with Remus smiling at them from the porch.

He woke to the same ministry witch who'd brought him his robes informing him that Amelia Bones would be meeting with him in five minutes. He blearily asked the time. He had slept for 16 hours straight. Still exhausted he asked for some water which he gulped down quickly, barely having time to straighten his robes when he heard the heals of Amelia Bones.

She was a slender young woman with a pretty face and short brown hair. She stopped in front of Sirius's door, pure business in her gaze.

"My name is Amelia Bones," she said, conjuring a desk and chair in front of the cell. "I will be interviewing you for the Wizengamot's review before your trial tomorrow."

Sirius just stared at her.

"I would like to begin with your knowledge of the deaths of James and Lily Potter," she had parchment and a quill poised magically to record everything that was said.

Sirius just stared at her. She stared back at him. "Whenever you are ready," she said after a moment.

Sirius cleared his throat. It had been a long time since he had talked with someone, a long time that his vocal chords had grown dusty. "What is it you want to know?" he asked, feeling his voice crack and shudder.

"Everything," she said simply.

"Well, it was about a year before the end of the war and Dumbledore had heard word that Voldemort had been looking for the Potters. They had little baby Harry with them, barely 3 months old and we decided that it would be best for them to go into hiding…"

Sirius told her everything. How he had switched places with Pettigrew at the last moment. How Pettigrew was the spy. How Sirius corned Pettigrew in a muggle street after the deaths of Lily and James. And about them becoming Animagi. Amelia sat there listening to his story, asking questions when she needed clarification but never interrupting and never letting him see her true emotions. When he was done an hour had past and his voice felt sore and raw. The quill finished scribbling then went still.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" she asked.

"Because I couldn't. We thought it was smart. Everyone thought that I was the secret keeper, but the real one was Peter. Even if they had found out that I wasn't, they never would have suspected him. Lily and James were safer than ever in my mind."

Amelia nodded and tapped the quill with her wand. It fell to the desk with a clatter. "You knew Edger," she said softly, a twinkle in her eye that Sirius had not seen through out the whole interview.

"He was a good wizard," said Sirius, "It's a shame what happened to him. I can only assume you were the little sister he always went on about."

Amelia nodded and looked around considering; finally she leaned in and whispered, "I believe you."

Joy such as he had never felt soared through Sirius. There eyes were dead locked and he did not see a lie. "Thank you," he said, matching her tone.

She broke the moment, standing up and placing the parchment in her bag. "Thank you for the interview," she said in her normal voice, now vanishing the desk and chair, "You are to appear before the Wizengamot at 10 AM tomorrow. Good day."

And she was gone. Sirius laid down on his lumpy cot and thought. He was going to be okay. He was going to be listened to. He was going to be cleared and he was going to make Peter pay. His eyes closed and he slept.


	8. Pre-Trial

Dragon and Wolf  
by BecauseIsaidSo

Chapter 9: Pre-Trial

Remus got the owl on May 8th telling him that his appearance would be required the next day at the hearing for a one Sirius Black. Draco had school the next day and would be fine, but he himself was a flutter of nerves. It was the first time he would see Sirius since the war had ended and he wasn't sure what to think. Narcissa's statement had made it clear that she knew nothing of Sirius being a death eater even though she and her husband had been in one of Voldemort's inner most circles.

He arrived at the Ministry early, his palms sweating and his hair falling out of place. He felt uncomfortable in his high-collared formal robes. He'd had to get them out of storage and had them cleaned and rid of moth holes, though they were still a bit drab looking and made him feel very out of place. He wanted to step onto the lift and go down to level 2 to visit Sirius and James as he had so many times before, but that wasn't where he was headed today.

He signed in as a visitor, announced his purpose and presence and checked his watch. It was 9:35. He sighed, he had to wait, going down this early would be strange and unseemly. He looked around the atrium, ministry officials running by shouting at fellow wizards, "Did you hear? Puddlemere United made it to the semi-finals!" or muttering to their quills that flew along beside them, "And make sure Dawlish knows that I wont be at Handler's meeting today."

All in all, Remus felt quite out of place and in the way. He sat down on the edge of the fountain, peering into the water and tried to fix his hair. It was falling into his eyes as it always did, he needed a haircut, but with Draco he never seemed to have time for anything at all. He fixed his hair as best as possible and turned back to the room, checking his watch again. 9:40. Time was moving much too slowly, but he knew from experience that time flew by in those court rooms. He wondered if it would be any different now that he was a witness. He wasn't sure what he was a witness for, however, and the question nagged at his mind. _Why do they need to see me?_ He kept asking himself. He had been the only one of the four who wasn't dead or being accused, but how did that make him important? He shivered involuntarily then checked his watch again. 9:45. He would go down now, no sense in waiting any longer.

He stood up gingerly, straightening his robes and fixing his hair one last time. He took a deep breath and walked to a lift. He got in along with a medi-witch, a tall bald man with a thick mustache and a monocle, and half dozen ministry memos. The grate closed behind them.

"Level 2, department of Magical Law Enforcement" said the woman's voice, and a few memos flew out, replaced by a small woman with short brown hair. Remus looked at her, he felt as if he knew her from some place, and for a wonderful moment, he wasn't thinking about the trial, simply the woman in front of him.

The bald man got out at Level 3, the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, and the rest of the memos and the medi-witch got out at Level 5, the Department of International Magical Cooperation. It was just Remus and the ministry witch left in the lift.

"Sorry," said Remus doubtfully after no one had gotten on at Level 7. "Do I know you from some where?"

The witch turned to him and looked him up and down, studying him for a moment, then she stuck out her hand, "Amelia Bones," she said pleasantly.

"Remus Lupin," said Remus shaking her hand.

"Oh!" Amelia's eyes light up in recognition, "You're here for the Black hearing?"

"Yes," said Remus, nodding curiously at her.

"Sorry," said Amelia, "I work in the Auror office and I'm the adjourning secretary on many of the Wizengamot trials, I interviewed Sirius myself yesterday. I also sent out the owls to those asked to attend, including yours."

Remus nodded at her, considerably more awkward than he had been a moment before, but she didn't seem to notice. "Of course, I can't talk about the trial with you yet," she laughed to herself, "But I do love being able to sit in on such important parts of history. When they brought in Igor Karkaroff I couldn't help but laugh. My brother was an auror you see, and helped to track Karkaroff down. Edgar had so many storied about the war-"

"Edgar?" asked Remus interrupting her.

"Level 10, Department of Mysteries" said the smooth female voice and they stepped out.

"Yes, Edgar Bones, my brother." She said, a hint of sadness coating her voice. Remus wanted to smack himself. That was why she seemed familiar, Edgar. Edgar and his wife, Samantha, had been members of the Order before they were killed by Death Eaters. Their deaths had been hard on all the members of the Order, but Remus hadn't thought how it would have affected their families.

"I'm sorry," said Remus after a moment as they headed down to the courtrooms.

"It's alright," she said, not looking at him, "It's still hard, but you can't hold on forever."

Remus nodded and they walked in silence the rest of the way to the courtroom. There were two dementors guarding the door to Courtroom 4 but Amelia walked through the door anyway, Remus following behind her.

He was immediately struck by how large the courtroom looked from down on the floor. It was intimidating with the rows and rows of benches, an entire half taken by the Wizengamot, most of them already seated.

"Sit on the right side," said Amelia, "That's the easiest way if you get called to the stand." Remus nodded and went, watching Amelia climb the middle steps and sit herself below the minister, quill and parchment at the ready.

Remus looked around, farther down in his row was a plump short witch with small beady eyes whom he immediately recognized as Mrs. Pettigrew, Peter's mum. Remus swallowed. If it was true that Peter was a Death Eater, then he could only imagine the toll it would take on his mother. She was a sweet witch, almost like a grandmother, who had hosted the four of them for a few Easters and summers over the years. Remus turned away, he didn't want to talk to her in her grief. Behind him sat Andromeda Tonks, Sirius's cousin. She smiled at him, and he waved back, he would talk to her after the hearing.

He looked across the way and saw Albus Dumbledore sitting there, talking to a gnarled Mad-eye Moody. They both looked excited and impatient. Remus was about to call out to them when the doors opened.

"I can't believe I'm being asked to attend this stupid hearing!" It was Walburga Black waltzing into the room now, a small harrowed looking wizard trying to escape her booming conversation, "My son is a rebel, my son hates me, my son is innocent, my son is guilty, my son is innocent again. I just want this over and done with so I can get back to my life." The frightened looking wizard excused himself quietly and hurried to one of the few remaining seats amongst the Wizengamot. Remus glanced up at Dumbledore again, he was eyeing Mrs. Black wearily while whispering something to Mad Eye. Mad Eye's normal eye was wandering around the room, but his magical eye was fixed on Mrs. Black as she lumbered up the rows of benches to the very back and plopped down with a boom.

Remus turned away slightly disgusted and continued surveying the room, he didn't get far however, because the doors opened once again and everyone went quiet. Remus quickly checked his watch, 10 o-clock on the dot. He looked eagerly at the door, waiting. In floated a dementor, followed by two ministry wizards who were escorting a thin and gaunt man with a tangled beard and matted hair, wearing the grey robes of prisoners. Remus stared, he was barely recognizable, but it was him, he would know the glint in that eye anywhere, Sirius Black.

* * *

((A/N: Hello! I'm back! Did you miss me? Well I just wanted to say sorry for not updating in a while, but hopefully I'm back on track now. It's a new semester at a new school and life is good. Please please please review and give me ideas! I have a few ways that I want to take this story, but I haven't completely decided on one yet... So help me out! Give me ideas! Thanks, see you soon!))


	9. Courtroom 4

Dragon and Wolf  
By BecauseIsaidSo

Chapter 9: Courtroom 4

"But why did you not try to explain all of this to the authorities?" asked an old wizard at the back whom Sirius couldn't see.

"I tried," said Sirius, "But they were having none of it, they said that Dumbledore had told them I had been the Potter's secret keeper, and they had just seen me, or they thought it was me, blow up half the street. They weren't about to believe me, they already thought me guilty."

Everyone looked over at Dumbledore, seated to Sirius's left. He rose and addressed the Wizengamot. "It is true, I was under the impression that Mr. Black had been the Potter's secret keeper, and I told the authorities as such as soon as I had secured Harry in his new home." Dumbledore sat back down, Sirius stared at him.

_Harry_. How could he have forgotten about Harry. His mind was a buzz. He was Harry's godfather, he was the one who was his rightful guardian. Where was he? Where had Dumbledore 'secured' him?

"So," said Millicent Bagnold, the Minister of Magic, "You were not the Potter's secret keeper, and Mr. Peter Pettigrew was. Do you have any knowledge of Mr. Pettigrew's whereabouts?"

"None," said Sirius, "He fled after he turned into a rat."

"Yes," said the Minister doubtfully, "What age was it again that you became animagi?"

"15. Maybe 16. It was our 5th year at Hogwarts."

"Could you, prove this to us, Mr. Black?" she looked over her glasses at him expectantly. Sirius was taken aback, but he could swear there was a twinkle in her eye that hadn't been there at the beginning of the hearing. Obligingly, Sirius stood up, and changed into a dog.

There were a few gasps and many mutterings afterwards, and Sirius was thankful for his elevated hearing.

"Maybe it is true, you think?"

"Just because he can doesn't mean Peter could."

"He did that when he was 15!"

"I know, and no extra for it on his OWLS."

Sirius turned back into his human form and took a seat in the iron chair again. The minister raised her eyebrows. "Well that settles that," she said, moving on.

"Um," said a curt voice from next to the minister. "I would just like to clarify some things, Millicent" said Barty Crouch.

"Certainly," said the minister, turning to him.

Bartimius Crouch stood up, looking down at Sirius with a look of disgust on his face. Sirius's stomach clenched, and he could feel his face grow hot. It had been Bartimius Crouch who had sent Sirius to Azkaban in the first place - without a trial. There were some mutterings around the hall, and Sirius was glad he was human at the moment and couldn't understand what they were saying.

"Black," Crouch began, "You have showed us well that _you_ are able to transform at will into a dog, a skill, I might add, that requires you by law to register yourself under our official guidelines. However, you have yet to prove to use that Peter Pettigrew was one of these illegal animagi."

Sirius opened his mouth to answer but then closed it. Crouch was right, Peter wasn't here, Peter was lost, on the run, dead for all he knew. There was no way to prove this, no way to show these wizards that he was telling the truth. Sirius felt his stomach churn and drop, the cloak of despair that he'd been fighting all day slowly started to creep over he heart again, and he sat back in his chair, defeated.

"I can't prove that Peter was an animagi," he said, flatly, "I can give you my word, that's about it."

"You have my word too," said a voice, a voice he recognized. Sirius turned and saw Remus Lupin standing in one of the front rows on the right, "I have seen Peter change many many times, if you can't trust his word, trust mine." He wasn't looking at Sirius but at Crouch, his jaw set in a hard line.

"Who are you?" asked the minister, ruffling some papers as Crouch sat down.

"Remus Lupin," said Mooney, very businesslike indeed. The minister inspected him then nodded.

"Alright, so Peter Pettigrew is an animagus. She was looking down at her notes now, "On November the first of last year, you cornered him in a muggle ally way." She looked up at Sirius, "Am I correct?" Sirius nodded, she went on. "You threatened him, and he pulled out a knife, chopped off his index finger, blew up the street behind him and transformed into his animagus state- which is a rat, and fled into the sewers. All right so far?" Sirius nodded again. "Now, our ministry authorities informed us that when you were taken you went without struggle and you were laughing, can you explain both occurrences?"

This was the hard part, this was where he got to relive that day in it's entirety, he had relived it so many times in his dreams in Azkaban, and it was torture. He'd often wake up in the middle of the night screaming, before remembering the truth.

"Well," said Sirius, "I went with them without a struggle because I assumed I'd be getting a trial. I know what they had just thought they'd seen, and I didn't blame them for doing their jobs. I did, however, expect to be given a trial at an appropriate time after the incident, and not be sent to Azkaban." There was a bitterness in his voice that did not go unnoticed by the Wizengamot, there were whispers at his words as well as a few chuckles.

"As for the laughing," he continued, "I found the whole thing ironic. I had just come from the destroyed house, lent Hagrid my motor bike to take Harry to Dumbledore, I knew my next step was finding Peter. Once I finally found him, it was day time and I'd worked myself up. My best friends were dead, and because of me." His voice cracked as he stared at his hands, not daring to meet any of the many eyes on him. "I convinced Lily and James to switch me with Peter, and it was Peter who betrayed them. Part of me still believed it was a mistake, that he written it down and it had fallen into the wrong hands. But once I found him, and cornered him and gotten the truth out of him, I was angry. I was filling up with an explosion of anger and resentment, and guilt that when he blew up the street and disappeared, came out as laughter.

"I should have known that was what he was going to do, I should have. He was never brave or noble, no he was a coward, and when I cornered him, I expected at be confronting a different man, a man who could stand up for something, anything, regardless if it was good or bad. I figured that he must have some guts - joining the Death Eaters, but no. He was a coward just as he always had been, and that was the worst part, knowing that he had acted just as he always had. I laughed because I couldn't believe it, all of my energy and emotion just came out in laughter, in the pure ridiculousness of my stupidity and his cowardliness."

There was silence when he was done and he slowly raised his head to meet the Ministers. He couldn't discern the look on her face, it was a mixture of pity and disbelief, if that was even possible. His eyes flicked down to Amelia Bone, she was staring at him, her quill still on the parchment in front of her, a worry line etched across her forehead. When their eyes met, she looked down at her parchment and scribbled a note before looking back up at the minister.

"Alright," said Millicent Bagnold to the Wizengamot, "We will address first the matter of Peter Pettigrew. It is my executive decision as Minister for Magic, that Peter Pettigrew be put on a wanted list of wizards, a warrant for his arrest is to be released, and the public be notified of his crimes and his animagus form." There was a murmur of consent throughout the Wizengamot, and Amelia magiced a memo to life and it zoomed out a grate in the ceiling.

"Now we come to the matter of Sirius Black," said the Minister, Sirius sat up straight. "The choices are as stands. One, conviction and imprisonment for life in Azkaban Prison for his affiliation with the terrorist cult the Death Eaters; and two, clearing the accused of all charges pending unregistered animagus form. Does the council need extra time?" There was a general murmur of 'no' from the Wizengamot.

"Very well then" said the minister and Sirius could feel a drumroll rolling in his stomach, "Those in favor of conviction," hands rose into the air, including Crouch's, more hands than Sirius had expected, furiously he tried to count. "And those in favor of clearing the accused."


	10. Free

Dragon and Wolf  
by BecauseIsaidSo

Chapter 10: Free

Sirius sat there, staring at nothing, the last few words still ringing in his ears. "Sirius Black, by the power of this hearing, the Wizengamot has found you innocent." _Innocent_. The thought struck him as strange, it was not a concept he was used to. He could return to his old life, his old job, his old family- he stopped there. He had no family, not anymore, they were all dead and on the run. His mother had gotten on the stand, her loud booming voice resonating around the courtroom declaring that her son was a disgrace to her family because he was a radical, he had always been disgusted by blood purity, and there was no way that he would ever join such a prolific group as the Death Eaters. His mother had helped but he couldn't help feeling resentful.

The people in the courtroom were all filing out now and he was still sitting in the iron chair, staring at nothing. He could hear as if from far away a woman sobbing, he turned. Mrs. Pettigrew was being led out of the courtroom by a ministry witch. Her son had been found a Death Eater and alive, they had revoked his Order of Merlin and labeled him as a dangerous person - wanted. Sirius stared at Mrs. Pettigrew, not really seeing her, or anything at all through the fog that was his brain. Taking a deep breath and shaking his head to clear it he stood up and almost ran into Amelia Bones. She had a bright smile on her face and was holding out her hand to him.

"Welcome back," she said, as he gingerly took her hand and shook it, not knowing how to feel.

"Thanks," he said, his voice still wheezy and sore from talking.

"So, I wanted to go over some logistical things with you," said Amelia, pulling a stack of parchment from her bag to show him. "This is your official release form," she handed him a piece of parchment, Sirius barely looked at it, "and your statement of deactivation."

"Why do you already have all these?" asked Sirius incredulously.

"I thought you'd get off, so I came prepared!" she said enthusiastically, then continued handing him documents. "This is you're auror license agreement - that needs to be renewed, your Gringots statement, your official hearing notice - hold on to that one, your letter of apology, and with that one comes your holding compensation - that's always fun. Oh, and then here we have your contract of citizenship, your wand-hold agreement, your public and personal statements - don't get those mixed up-"

"Sirius," The gruff voice broke through Amelia's chatter and brought Sirius's eyes up. Remus Lupin stood in front of him, a small smile on his face, looking sweaty and awkward in his old-fashioned dress robes.

"Mooney," croaked Sirius, smiling for the first time since the war had ended, it felt strange but perfectly at home on his face. They stood there staring at each other for a moment, then at the same time spoke.

"Forgive me for-"

"I understand if you-"

They stopped, looking at the other, then started again.

"Whatever you're doing-"

"I don't mean to intrude-"

Amelia started laughing, then Sirius chuckled, Remus joined in and before he knew it, they were embracing. They pulled away, and Remus looked down at him, a large genuine smile stretched across his face.

"How are you?" he asked.

Sirius laughed, "I've never been better." There was silence for a moment then he said, "Forgive me, Remus-"

"Don't," Remus's voice was genuine, "It's forgotten."

Sirius looked at his friend, a weight he didn't know he'd been carrying lifted in his heart. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know," said Remus, smiling. "And you had no way of knowing that I wasn't the spy."

Sirius chuckled, "If only we'd seen it."

"Who could have seen it? Peter was quiet and meek, none of us thought it was him."

Sirius nodded, he knew this, he knew it in his heart, but that didn't make it easier.

"Shall we get lunch?" Remus asked after a moment.

Sirius opened his mouth to answer but Amelia jumped in, "I'm sorry, but he has to be discharged first, and would probably want a shave and a hair cut as his first priorities."

Sirius smiled and watched as Remus exchanged glances with Amelia, "is there any reason I wouldn't be able to accompany him?" he asked.

"Could I come along as well?" said a voice, they all turned and Sirius found himself staring at his beloved cousin.

"Andy!" he stepped forward and embraced her, she squeezed him back.

"I'm glad you're free, cousin," she said smiling at him.

"Me too," said Sirius laughing, "How are Ted and Dora?"

"They're wonderful, though Dora still tries to hide from me. I keep having to dress her in ridiculous outfits just so I wont lose her. But she starts Muggle primary school in the fall and that's very exciting, keeping secrets from every one, you know." She winked and Sirius smiled, it felt strange, life had gone on without him, everyone was getting older and moving just as they had. It was he who had fallen behind, he who had had over half a year of his life taken from him, half a year he wouldn't be getting back. "Well, could I come along?" she asked hesitantly, and Sirius remembered where they were.

"Of course," said Amelia stepping in and sticking out her hand, "Amelia Bones at your service."

"Andromeda Tonks," said Andy slightly taken aback by Amelia's forwardness, and shaking her hand.

"We have to take you up to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to be properly discharged," said Amelia turning to Sirius now. "We can all go up there together, if you like?" There was a general consensus and they started toward the door, "This is your imprisonment survey," said Amelia, starting her litany of documents again, "don't forget to send it back, and your animagus registration form - they'll want to have a meeting with you in a couple of weeks, your personal copy of the trials transcript, the release of your affects…"

With Amelia on one side handing him documents, and Remus and Andy on the other, Sirius didn't feel alone. He had people who loved him, who would look out for him. He held his head high as a wave of relief washed over him. He was innocent. Free.


	11. Dragon Heart String

Dragon and Wolf  
by BecauseIsaidSo

Chapter 11: Dragon Heart String

"Ms. Bones," said Sirius turning to her, once they'd reached the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

"Amelia," she corrected him, smiling.

"Amelia," he said, hesitating, "what's going to happen with Harry? I'm his legal guardian, I should be able to take care of him."

Amelia shifted nervously. She didn't want to tell him what she knew she must.

"With your imprisonment, you were stripped of almost all of your legal rights, including those of parentage."

"But I'm innocent, I have all of those rights again, don't I?" the look in his eyes was alarming.

"Yes," she said hastily, "However, Harry couldn't live in limbo until you got out, so he's living with another family."

"Who?"

"I'm not sure," she said nervously. "He was given over to Dumbledore after the attack and he found a muggle home for him. No one knows where."

"A muggle family?" Sirius looked incredulous. "But he's magical! He should grow up with magic, he should.."

"There's nothing I can do," said Amelia as Sirius trailed off. Sirius stared off into the distance thinking hard.

"I'll talk to Dumbledore," he said definitively.

"Alright," she said, "anyways, here's your discharge contract. You're not on parol or anything so you wont have to report to us ever again. Unless you want to," she added quickly. Sirius took the document and studied it, signing at the bottom. She looked over at Remus and Sirius's cousin, Andy he had called her. They were chatting together like old friends. Amelia had watched the way the three of them interacted and felt very out of place. Remus and Sirius had embraced and talked like brothers. He had close friends and close family and she felt a pang in her chest for her older brother. Edgar had died not that long ago and the memory of him and Sam still made her heart clench. Sam had been pregnant when she was murdered, and the thought of that unborn child almost brought tears to her eyes.

"Here you go," said Sirius handing her the form. "Anything else?"

"Yes," said Amelia, shaking her head to clear it and opening her desk drawer. She pulled out a long thin box. "Sirius Black," she said presenting it to him, "your wand."

Sirius looked at her incredulously, then gingerly stretched out his hands and took the box.

"You didn't snap it?" he asked staring at her.

She smiled at him, "We stopped snapping wands in the late 60s. The ministry decided that a wizard or witch should have the right to earn back his or her wand. I took yours out of storage this morning."

He carefully opened the box, and Amelia marveled at the sadness on his face as he lifted it from the packaging.

"Are you alright?" she asked, as he continued to stare at his wand.

"Yeah," he said softly, not looking at her, "It's just, the last time I held this wand, I was set on murdering Peter." His eyes went out of focus as he slipped his wand inside his robes. "Thank you," he said without looking at her, "Anything else I need to do?"

"No," she said softly, regarding him.

"Thank you," he looked at her and smiled.

She smiled back and stuck out her hand, "It has been an honor to work with you Sirius Black. Good luck with all your endeavors."

"Thanks," he shook her hand. His face had cleared and there was a twinkle in his eye that she wouldn't forget in a hurry.

"Take care," she said as he turned to leave. He waved back at her and the three of them left the office. Amelia sat down in her desk chair, her inbox was next to full and lunch was still an hour away. She stared at the door the three of them had left through thinking of the companionship and and brotherhood they shared. She swallowed hard, as tears began to whell up in her eyes. She took the first memo off her inbox, but before she could even read it she had burst into tears.

Try as she might, Amelia Bones was not a strong woman, and her grief and pain were catching up with her.


	12. Sons, Stars, and Cupcakes

Dragon and Wolf  
By BecauseIsaidSo

Chapter 12: Sons, Stars, and Cupcakes

"I have something to tell you," said Remus over lunch, Andy had excused herself to get back to her job at St. Mungo's.

"What?" Sirius, now with short cropped hair and a shaven face looked up from his third entree of the meal. "It is so good to eat real food!" he had exclaimed every so often, hungry from malnutrition and craving vegetables and red meat.

"I have a son," said Remus blankly, relishing in Sirius's shocked expression.

"Who's the lucky gal?" he asked once he had regained his composure, bits of carrots flying from his mouth as he spoke.

"Cover your mouth," said Remus disgusted, "And he's not mine by blood, I adopted him."

"From who?" Sirius was curious.

Remus took a deep breath, "Narcissa Malfoy."

Sirius's mouth fell open. "What? But- how- who- when- what?"

Remus laughed a little at Sirius's bewilderment. "The only reason you had a trial," he explained, "was because Narcissa Malfoy wrote a letter to the Ministry explaining that she had no idea you were a Death Eater, and that Peter defiantly was one. What made her write this letter? Me."

Sirius stared at him, and put down his fork, "You got me out? I just thought they got their heads out of their asses and decided to give a fair trial where trial was due."

"Nope," said Remus calmly, "sadly not."

Sirius stared at him, "So, Narcissa wrote this letter, but how does that leave you with her kid?"

"Well, she wanted to get away from Lucius, which no one can blame her for, but she didn't want Draco to be raised by a crazy man or on the run, so she showed up at my door one day begging me to adopt him."

"And you did?"

"Eventually. I realized she had information that was necessary to the Order, so I flued Dumbledore and Mad-eye got involved and we struck a deal. I take Draco, she writes a letter explaining everything, and the Order keeps her protected from her husband and the Ministry. She's living over seas at the moment, only Mad-eye knows where."

Sirius took a gulp of water and sat considering. "Wow," he said finally, looking back up at Remus, "You got me out."

Remus nodded smiling to himself. He knew Sirius would never have the proper words to describe his emotions of the past few days, but he didn't need to be told. Sirius was readjusting, he was trying to get comfortable with the world again. He let Sirius think then finally said, "He's a little older than Harry, and has given me a reason to stay sane."

Sirius looked up at him and nodded, still thinking. "But Mooney," he said finally, "You're, well, mooney, don't you think it's a little dangerous?"

"Well, I'm very careful to drink my wolfsbane, and I make sure on that night that I have someone on call just incase things get out of control. It was Dumbledore this last time, but now that you're out…" he trailed off wondering if Sirius would recognize his intent.

"Of course!" he said, taking another bite of his lunch.

They sat there in silence for a little while, Remus's own lunch lay finished in front of him, his napkin crumpled and perched on top of his plate. Sirius on the other hand, had three plates piled high with ribs and wings and casseroles. The diner they were eating at seemed to serve almost anything, and they had been sitting there over an hour, as Sirius had everything he wanted.

"Remus," said Sirius between mouthfuls of mashed potatoes, "Do you think-" he stopped himself, wiping his mouth and looking at Remus seriously. "When I went to Azkaban, my apartment was compromised, and I'd really rather not go back to live with my mother, so do you think - I mean, would you mind…?"

He trailed off, but Remus knew what he was going to ask, "Of course you can live with me," he said smiling at his old friend, "But you'd be living with me and Draco, remember, so there will be rules." Remus grinned mischievously at him, "Such as don't corrupt him."

"What?" Sirius feigned innocence, "When have I ever been known to to corrupt anyone?"

Remus laughed as Sirius scraped the last of the potatoes off of his plate and put his fork down, sitting back in his seat.

"Finished?" asked Remus

"Finally. I don't think I could eat another bite!" Remus grinned and waved for the check.

"Did you ask Amelia about Harry?" Remus asked as they counted out coins.

"I did," said Sirius uncomfortably, "Apparently Dumbledore has him locked away with some muggle family. I'm going to write him tonight about it, see if there isn't something I can do to get custody."

"Good," said Remus, "I don't like the idea of him out there in the world, with people who don't know, people who can't tell him anything about his family, his past."

Sirius nodded agreeing, "I'm his rightful guardian, I should be taking care of him."

They left the diner in silence, stepping out into Diagon Ally. The street was busy with shoppers enjoying the good weather. A group of older women glanced at them then started whispering to themselves, one glanced over her shoulder after they'd past.

"Either I'm better looking than I ever knew or I'm a new celebrity," said Sirius mildly.

"I'd go with perceived fugitive," said Remus, "which, if you think about it, is a kind of celebrity."

"My name is Sirius Black!" said Sirius to the skies, "I am your new super star, bow to me in all my glory!"

Remus started laughing as his friend pulled out his wand and painted a large star in golden sparks above his head. People who past them were staring and Remus just stood there and laughed and laughed. He hadn't been this happy in a long time.

"Come on, Mooney!" Sirius ran up to him and started drawing a red star above his head, "What do you say, be a celebrity with me?"

"No, no," Remus tried to push away, ducking under Sirius's wand and pulling out his own.

"Don't run from me Remus!" said Sirius, doing a frighteningly good impression of his mother's voice, "It'll only make it worse!"

Remus laughed and with a flick, Sirius's wand was flying through the air. He caught it. Sirius pouted.

"I see Azkaban took some of your reflexes away from you," said Remus, handing Sirius back his wand and pocketing his own.

"Yeah," said Sirius sadly, twiddling his wand between his fingers his brow furrowed. Remus could have smacked himself. Of course it was too early to be joking about Azkaban, what was he thinking? _You weren't_, said a little voice at the back of his mind, and Remus shook his head to clear it.

"I want my old job back," Sirius said quietly.

"You want to be a paper pusher for the Aurors?" asked Remus, trying to lighten the suddenly much darker mood.

"No," Sirius said smiling slightly, "I want to be an Auror. I don't know if they take people who've been to Azkaban though…"

"You aren't guilty," Remus reminded him, "They can't turn you down for being a suspect.

"I guess," said Sirius sadly, "I just wish I knew. And I need to tone up on my skills again, as you so blatantly pointed out."

Remus regarded his friend. This had been happening all day, one moment he was fun and playful, cracking jokes and smiling; the next he was sad and moody, always concerned about the future and what was going to happen to him. Remus didn't know how to help him.

"Cupcake?" he suggested, pointing to the bakery across the street.

Sirius laughed, "I think if I ever even see food again, I'll hurl, but thanks."

"Well I want one," said Remus striding across the street to the bakery, "At least join me!"

"Alright," said Sirius, jogging across the street to join Remus, "But you might want to get rid of your star first."

Remus looked, Sirius's half finished star was still floating above his head, as was Sirius's golden one. He laughed and flicked his wand, waving them away. "We good?" he asked Sirius who nodded, and they entered the bakery.

The shop was clean and bright, two walls were taken up by a counters and display case showing off many varieties of cakes, cookies and desserts. There were a few tables scattered across the floor and a bench lining a wall of windows. Apart from the cakes, the shop was completely empty.

"Hello?" said Remus as Sirius beelined for the display case full of cake pops. A door opened behind the counters to reveal a very pretty young woman carrying a tray of freshly made cupcakes.

"Oh, that is too good to be true," said Sirius, sidling up to the woman and leaning against one of the display cases, "A beautiful lady and delicious treats."

The woman ignored him and looked at Remus, "Can I help you?" she asked, her tone was brisk and professional.

"Oh yes you can," said Sirius sticking his hand out to her, "Sirius Black, at your service." She ignored him still and started placing the cupcakes on a shelf in one of the display racks.

"Padfoot!" Remus snapped, and Sirius stepped back from the counter scowling. Remus quietly remarked how very much like a dog he sometimes acted as he walked forward and examined the display case she was filling. It had nothing but cupcakes in it. Chocolate cupcakes, and lemon cupcakes, cupcakes with Oreos stuck in the icing, cupcakes with coffee beans sprinkled on top, red velvet and chocolate meringue. The cupcakes she was putting in the case were yellow with white icing and a sprinkling of what looked like chili powder on top. She finished the display and straightened up.

"Can I help you?" she asked again, regarding Remus curiously.

"Yes," he said, "I'd like cupcake."

"They're all right here," she gestured to the display case, "Feel free to ask me any questions."

"Do you have samplings?" asked Sirius. She ignored him. Remus chuckled to himself and went back to examining the cupcakes.

Finally he decided on a Lemon Spice cupcake with marshmallow frosting.

"Will that be it for you?" she asked, taking the biggest of the few and placing it in a light blue box."

"I think so," said Remus.

"Your name beautiful, and what flu to call," said Sirius, watching the woman as she bent to get a bag from under the back table. She ignored him.

"That'll be 4 Sickles," she told Remus, straightening up.

Remus dug in his pockets and pulled out four of the silver coins. She wrapped the blue box with a pretty white bow and put it in a light green bag.

"There you go," she said, handing Remus the bag and smiling broadly at him, "On the inside of the box is a list of all the different treats I make. I hope to see you around." Her smile was warm and genuine.

"You too gorgeous," said Sirius. Remus rolled his eyes at him and they left the shop.

"Why are you such a pig?" asked Remus taking out the blue box and stuffing the white bow and green bag in a nearby trash can.

"I'm not a pig!" he said defensively, "I'm a perfect gentleman."

"In my experience there's no such thing as a perfect gentleman," Remus quoted sardonically.

Sirius rolled his eyes at him, "Come on, she was cute, like beyond cute! Don't say you didn't notice."

"I did notice," said Remus casually, "I however, am more of a gentleman than you."

Sirius chuckled, "You've got that right."

Remus opened the box, inside was his Lemon Spice cupcake with marshmallow frosting. Sirius watched him as he lifted the cupcake from the box and took a bite. Bright yellow sparks flew from the cupcake encircling all of Remus's head in a great web on sparks. The cupcake was delicious and Remus decided a golden head dress was a small price to pay for such a delicious cupcake. He smiled over at Sirius as he chewed.

"And you wouldn't let me keep my stars," Sirius mused.

Remus grinned at him and they kept walking down Diagon Ally, people laughing at Remus's yellow cage of a head and staring at Sirius as they passed. Remus smiled to himself as they walked, his best friend was free, and was coming to live with him and his son. It was a good feeling, Remus decided, to be this content and happy with the world. The one problem still remained, however, with Harry. He was somewhere in the muggle world, alone, and confused. _We will find him_, Remus vowed, _we will find him and bring him home. _ And with this resolution safely in his heart Remus Lupin finished his cupcake.


End file.
